


Bruce Wayne, Father of Demons

by SalParadiseLost



Series: The Demon in the Details [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily, Bruce Punching a Man that Deserved to be Punched, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Bruce wayne gets his first warning that, Demon Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is a Good Brother, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Human Bruce Wayne, Human Dick Grayson, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Incubi, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, batfam, he's gonna have lots of demons in his future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29746851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalParadiseLost/pseuds/SalParadiseLost
Summary: Bruce Wayne thought he knew a lot about demons. However, he's quickly being proven wrong as he realises that he has no idea how to be a father to his new demon children.That doesn't mean he isn't going to defend his kids, though.**Anthology-style story about Bruce learning how to father his demons**
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Series: The Demon in the Details [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151114
Comments: 58
Kudos: 323





	Bruce Wayne, Father of Demons

**Author's Note:**

> Last story I wrote, I gave people a lot of fluff. 
> 
> This one hurt my heart a lot more.
> 
> Quick warning, this story deals with implied child abuse and elements of discrimination against demons.

_Incubus (n.) - the male variant of the Asmodi class of demons that resembles a human in order to feed off human emotions, particularly those sexual in nature. They can manipulate emotions and are well known for being promiscuous.  
_ _  
Female Variant: Succubus. Plural Form: Incubi  
  
Synonyms: Sex Demon. Nightmare (archaic)._

* * *

Bruce remembers the first time he had tried to research incubi.

It had been during his early years of training to be Batman when he gave himself a crash course in demon species. He read the descriptions on incubi and succubi. He looked over pictures and videos of them using their powers. He saw them at their worst. But he, just like the rest of the world, mostly dismissed then as sex demons— they could be dangerous, but they didn’t think much past where to get their next meal to actually become a legitimate threat.

He catalogued how to take them down, and then, moved on.

It was only when he brought a scrappy little incubus home did he realise just how much he didn’t know about them.

He knew how the weak points on their body. He knew where to attack and how much force he needed to use. He knew he needed to guard his emotions if he was ever facing off against one.

He knew dozens of ways how to defeat them in battle. He had thought that was enough.

He didn’t even know how much he didn’t know.

He watched silently as the gala swam around him, flourishes of designer gowns and the crystal drippings of wealth mixing together in a beautiful haze. Ladies stood like elegant birds next to the dark columns of their suited companions, laughing at whatever socially acceptable joke was said

Bruce, thankfully, wasn’t the host of this gala and was spared some of the spotlight because of it. People still came up to him, to thank him for this or that, or to interest him in a new business proposition, but most seemed to be keeping to their own circles this evening.

His eyes were mostly on the small demon who was practically hiding behind Dick as his older brother politely chatted to a socialite. One of Dick’s hands was holding a champagne flute (which Bruce prayed didn’t actually have alcohol in it), but the other was gently stroking over Jason’s head and down his back.

The little demon would usually never allow such contact in public, which only told Bruce exactly how uncomfortable he was right now. Hell, the kid was practically shoving himself into Dick’s back any time someone walked past him. Bruce’s heart hurt as he watched one of Jason’s small fists curled into the fabric of Dick’s jacket.

This was a mistake.

It helped a little bit that Bruce had managed to persuade Dick to come with them for the evening. His older boy was home more, still furious at Bruce, but forcing himself to stay for Jason’s benefit.

The incubus had taken a shine to Dick, even though the demon would never admit it and still pretended not to care every time Dick came back home. Bruce guessed it was natural. Jason was a demon that fed on emotions and sensed all the feelings around him. Dick was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve. They were a good fit, and Bruce could see how much it comforted Jason to have his older brother close.

Jason was still too new, too jumpy around Dick and him, too suspicious around humans. He flinched at the contact he was supposed to take comfort in, and he only grudging allowed Dick to feed him.

He wasn’t used to them yet, let alone ready to be dragged into Gotham’s high society.

But people had been talking. There were rumours of Bruce Wayne bringing home a demon child, of taking in another stray and the paparazzi were as desperate as ever to get a look at him. They speculated that Bruce was ashamed of Jason (as if he could ever be ashamed of his strong and resilient son) and was hiding him away because he was a demon.

Species didn’t matter to Bruce. Jason was his son and everything else was secondary.

But he didn’t want the rumours to come back to Jason, making the little demon feel more insecure than he already did.

The gala was unpleasant, but it was a good way to show that he wasn’t embarrassed by Jason’s species. And, once this whole thing was over, he could bundle his boys up, take them back home and forget about all the people that wanted to dig into his personal life.

“Bruce Wayne. I can’t say that I ever thought you had it in you, but I am jealous,” a smooth voice came from his left and Bruce suddenly found himself joined.

He had to hide his frown behind a Brucie grin.

Chad Mitchel, a CEO of a tech company that had been growing in the market. He was younger and with loads of new money that he didn’t hesitate flashing at any moment. He wasn’t a legitimate threat, though Bruce didn’t have anything nice to say about the various sex scandals surrounding him. The man was a bastard who liked sleeping with other people’s wives, but he was clean as far as Gotham’s darker underbelly went.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, following the man’s line of sight to Jason. Dick had finished his conversation and seemed to be guiding his younger brother to some hors d’oeuvres.

A bright, affectionate piece of his heart lit up seeing his two boys together. For the first time, he gave the other man a real smile.

“I’m lucky to have found him,” Bruce said, still watching as his boys loaded up a plate. He didn’t miss when Dick tucked a couple of extra pieces of food onto Jason’s plate.

Good. The demon definitely needed to be eating more.

The man next to him shook his head, waving at a waiter to bring him another glass of champagne. Bruce still nursed the single glass he had held all night.

“You know, I thought about getting myself one, but I haven’t been able to find one,” Mitchel spoke and then sipped at the alcohol. His posture was leaned back and casual.

Bruce almost did a double-take though. He had never pegged Chad Mitchel for a man interested in starting a family. He had never seen the man express an interest in anything outside of vices. Maybe this man had made a change? Maybe seeing what Bruce had changed something in him?

He didn’t know what he had done to do that.

“Well, I would say that Jason rather found me,” Bruce said, shifting his weight between his feet. His boys were making their way to a table now. The hall only had standing pedestal tables and Jason kept tilting himself on his tippy toes to get extra height.

Chad Mitchel chuckled and Bruce couldn’t say that he liked the sound. “Tell me, Wayne, are they really as good as everyone says they are?” Mitchel’s eyes kept their focus on Jason, not wavering for a second.

The boy must have felt the gaze on him because he looked in their direction. Eyes going to the other man first, before meeting Bruce’s. The discomfort was still clear on his face, and Bruce was proud of the boy for putting up with the gala for so long.

They were going to leave soon, he promised his boys mentally. Jason turned back to his food, even though his eyes kept anxiously flickering back to them.

“They are,” Bruce finally answered Mitchel’s question. It was honest, his children were the best thing to ever happen to him. “They are the most wonderful decision I’ve ever made.”

“Damn,” Chad Mitchel whistled lowly. “I had always heard that incubi were good. I’ve never gotten off on one yet, though.”

Bruce froze, thoughts coming to a crashing stop in his head. The world blared around him, but he couldn’t get past what Chad Mitchel had just said.

_Heard that incubi were good…_

_Jealous of you…_

_Gotten off..._

_Getting myself one…_

Revulsion rolled in his stomach as he realised that Mitchel wasn’t just looking at Jason. His eyes were sizing up his boy, stopping on Jason’s hips and lingering there. He wasn’t smiling. He was leering, and the dark thoughts were suddenly so clear for Bruce to see.

Jason’s eyes yet again flitted to meet Bruce’s, his anxiety so much more real now. Jason had seen what Bruce couldn’t. God, his little boy was an _emotion_ demon, of course, he hadn’t missed the lust.

He had probably seen the predator for what he was a mile away.

And Bruce had remained oblivious.

Standing there and smiling like his little boy wasn’t being objectified right in front of him.

His eyes flickered to the other adults around him. His mind brought up memories from minutes ago, when Jason flinched away from people walking past, looking like he wanted to disappear. How blind had Bruce been?

The disgust rolling inside him was soon replaced with bright anger. Anger at himself, but mostly anger that the man who kept looking at his son like he was a piece of meat. His grip tightened on his glass and he put it down on a nearby table to keep from breaking it.

“Tell me,” Chad Mitchel kept talking oblivious to the fury that was rising in Bruce. “Is it the best fuck you’ve ever had? Do you do it all the time? I mean, the kid’s a sex demon, so it’s not exactly like he can say no. What black market did you get him from?”

Bruce’s fury rose and the world whited out for a single moment before his fist was swinging.

There was a crack. The give of bones beneath his hand. Chad Mitchel’s whimpers filling a sudden silence that had consumed the gala.

The man was curled on the ground clutching his jaw. The entire left side of his face was already purpling, and it sent a tiny, vengeful bit of satisfaction through Bruce.

He straightened his spine, meeting the gazes of his two boys who were both staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers.

“Boys,” he raised his voice a little bit but kept it calm. It betrayed the lingering anger that still coursed through him. “We’re leaving now.”

He strode out of the room, knowing that the two young men would follow him. He needed to get away, but more importantly, he needed to get Jason away from these people. No one said anything as he gathered his coat and his boys joined his side.

“What the hell, Bruce?” Dick hissed to him as he picked up his own coat. “Why did you punch—”

“He deserved it,” Bruce said curtly, cutting Dick off. The young man scrunched his nose and looked like he was about to launch into a tirade, but Bruce caught his eyes. “I’ll explain, but we need to leave first. Jason can’t stay here any longer.”

Dick blinked, and suddenly, it was Nightwing standing in front of Bruce. Dick shifted, physically putting himself between his brother and the rest of the gala. He kept a hand on Jason’s shoulder and checked their surroundings with a sharp gaze.

Bruce couldn’t help the flicker of pride when he saw how easily Dick protected his brother.

They silently made their way to the valet and Bruce retrieved his keys. Something tight in him unwound as he drove his boys back to the Manor.

Jason was being uncharacteristically silent and Dick must have also picked up on it because he had hugged the demon into his side. The little incubus was hiding his face in Dick’s shoulder and Dick met Bruce’s eyes in the car mirror with a lost expression.

It was only when they had finally parked in front of the Manor and were getting out of the car that Jason spoke again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice small and terrified.

Bruce froze for the second time that night. The cold of the night was nothing compared to the jolt that raced through his heart at hearing Jason sound so _broken_.

“I’m sorry. I ruined everything,” Jason repeated and he was trembling now. He stared at the ground, unwilling to raise his head. “He kept looking at me and I didn’t know how to make him stop. And I didn’t…” his voice cracked, just like Bruce’s heart.

“I know I’m tempting, and I don’t mean to be. I’m sorry I ruined everything. I, I…” Jason’s voice was shaking now, and Bruce caught the tears rolling down his boy’s cheeks.

But he couldn’t, not when the boy obviously didn’t trust him. It broke his heart, but Bruce held himself back because he knew that it was better for Jason.

The boy shivered, arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t know, how to control it… I-I don’t want to be…” His voice was breaking, and he was trying to make himself look as small as possible. “I know I should be a good sex demon, and… enjoy it, but- but I can’t and it ruins things.”

Bruce felt himself tear apart. Jason was asking for forgiveness… for what? For being a kid who didn’t want to be stared at? For not enjoying the lustful leers adults regarded him with? For feeling afraid when a predator stared him down?

The fury from before roared in his chest. He desperately wanted to leave and punch anyone who had ever dared to look at Jason like he wasn’t a child.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry” Jason’s voice was desperate now, a twinge of fear entering it. He snapped his head up, eyes wide as his body began to tremble violently. “I-I didn’t mean to. I’m-m…Please don’t hurt me.”

Jason made a choked sound, something between a cry and a whimper, and he closed his eyes.

Like he was waiting for a strike.

Horror dawned on Bruce, and it sent ice through his veins.

He wasn’t. He wouldn’t. He would never hit Jason.

But the little demon, he could feel Bruce’s emotions. Jason felt anger and assumed…

Bruce felt like he was going to throw up. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the cold press of the pavement biting through his clothes.

He desperately wanted to clutch the boy to his chest, curl that tiny body into his just so he could protect him against the world. He wanted to be able to push the darkness away and keep it from ever hurting Jason again.

But he couldn’t, not when the boy obviously didn’t trust him. It broke his heart, but Bruce held himself back because he knew that it was better for Jason.

Dick didn’t have that problem though.

His older son made a sound like he had been punched in the gut and practically collapsed as he gathered Jason into a fierce hug. The boy went boneless in his arms, grabbing onto Dick and crying into his jacket. His smaller body trembled through his tears and he made a rough keening whine from the back of his throat.

It broke Bruce’s heart more than he thought possible and his entire chest flared in pain.

He carefully edged forward and Jason immediately caught the movement, whipping towards Bruce and bracing against Dick.

Dick rubbed a hand up and down Jason’s spine, gently hushing the frantic whines that were rising in the demon’s throat. “Oh, baby, he’s not going to hurt. He would never hurt you. You’re safe here.”

“But…but…” Jason could hardly get words through with how violently his voice shook. “He’s angry at me.”

Bruce flinched, and Dick caught his eye with a similar sick horror.

“No, Jason. He’s not angry at you,” Dick kept his voice tender and stroked the top of the demon’s head. “He’s angry at other people for making you feel this way.”

Jason looked to Bruce for confirmation and the man hastily nodded. “Jaybird, I will never hit you and I’m not angry at you. The things that man said to me were horrible, and when he told me what he wanted to do with you, I got angry. I punched him because I was angry for you. But not at you, Jason. I was never angry at you.”

The demon stared at him, eyes deep and looking into his soul. He knew Jason was searching his emotions, looking for the lie. It was disconcerting, knowing that all his emotions were being analysed, that every vulnerable part of him was being evaluated by the boy.

But if that was what Jason needed to trust Bruce, then Bruce would let the boy look for as long as he wished.

Jason broke the gaze, shoving half of his face into Dick’s shoulder again.

“I didn’t want him to look at me,” he admitted, so quietly that Bruce almost missed it. His hands fidgeted around a button on Dick’s suit. “I know what they want when they look at me like… I know I should want it, but I don’t want to.”

He met Bruce’s eyes again, and there was something pleading and vulnerable in Jason’s face.

And underneath those frightened emotions, Bruce could see just the tiniest bit of delicate hope.

“Jason, I swear I will never, ever let men like him hurt you. I don’t care that you’re an incubus, I won’t ever force you to do something you don’t want to. Jason, you’re my son. I love you.”

The little demon regarded him again with those endless, yet still so delicate eyes.

“You would protect me?” he asked, the hope growing ever so slightly.

“Of course, Jason,” Bruce promised. “I would lay my life down for you.”

He knew he would too. If that’s what Jason needed, that’s what he would give. He wasn’t ever going to let anyone take his boy away from him. He would fight for Jason. He would give his last breath long before Jason ever did.

It was a promise he intended to keep.

Jason stood across from him, still in his brother’s arms, and then, he edged a step away from Dick.

He gingerly inched forward, hesitating and still partially waiting for the hit Bruce promised would never come.

Carefully, Jason brought himself into Bruce’s arms.

The little demon curled into him, pressing his nose into the hollow of Bruce’s neck and murmuring quiet baby demon sounds. Bruce didn’t know what was happening but let the demon smell and make questioning little chirrups at him.

Then, Jason pulled back a little baring his own neck at Bruce.

There was a tense moment, where Bruce felt helplessly human because he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what his boy needed. He didn’t know how to be a demon for Jason.

Then, he slowly closed his arms around the boy, bringing the demon closer and nuzzling against Jason’s thin throat. Silently, he prayed that this was the right thing to do, that he hadn’t just made a colossal mistake and burnt down all the trust he’d been trying to build up with Jason.

It must have been because Jason crumpled against him, sighing in relief and letting Bruce take his weight. He felt so small in Bruce’s arms, delicate and precious, and, for a second, Bruce feared he might break him.

The demon shifted and, suddenly, Bruce realised that the little boy in his arms was purring.

The ice around his heart melted and he clutched Jason impossibly close, desperate to hear that soft sound.

He had never heard Jason purr before. He hadn’t even known that demons could do that.

But now that he did, he didn’t ever want it to stop.

He carefully stood, balancing the boy’s weight in his arms. He was definitely heavier than when Bruce first brought him home, but still so much lighter than he should be.

Baby steps, though. They needed to take things one at a time, and one of the most immediate things he could do was getting his children out of the cold.

“Dick, why don’t we go inside and see if Alfred can make us some hot cocoa?”

Dick stood, brushing off some of the dirt on his pants, and smiling. “Of course, then we can watch a movie.”

He came to them, catching both of them in a hug.

His eyes popped wide when he realised his little brother was vibrating. The smile grew on his face and he pressed an ear against Jason’s back. Bruce felt the demon’s purring become stronger.

“Oh my god, that’s adorable.”

“I’m not cute,” Jason shot back and scowled, which only made him more adorable when he was trying to look fierce.

Bruce watched as Dick had to physically stifle a laugh. “My mistake. Not cute at all.”

Then, Dick continued past them, presumably to hunt down Alfred and some hot cocoa.

Bruce followed after grabbing his and Jason’s coats from the car.

Once they were inside, he gently set Jason down, but not before the boy nuzzled against him one more time.

“You would make a good Head of a pack,” said the boy, and before Bruce could ask what he meant, Jason dashed away, quickly swallowed by the Manor.

Bruce was left standing in the entryway of his home with the distinct feeling that he had a lot to learn about demons.

**Author's Note:**

> Later, Bruce learns that demons, especially incubi, need to have a pack and the bonds they bring. He throws himself into learning how to bond with his demon son and how to be a demon parent. 
> 
> This is also when Dick determines that he needs to learn how to purr. 
> 
> Chad Mitchel also gets an additional visit from Batman and he loses all his fortune, gets all his dirty secrets brought to light and gets thrown in jail because of his involvement with demon trafficking.
> 
> \----
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!! I really loved writing a baby Jason who doesn't have his pack bonds yet. He's so smol and baby. 
> 
> If you want to make this story sadder, go back and read the part where Bruce promises to die for Jason while remembering that Jason still dies in this au.
> 
> Shout out to BlueKappa who gave me Chad's name. Also HUGE and endless thank you's to Daisy, for still being a great inspiration. Honestly, the whump groupchat as a whole deserves a shout-out for hurting me with their stories, and encouraging me to keep on writing. 
> 
> Check out my tumblr at [ SalParadiseLost ](https://salparadiselost.tumblr.com) for cut scenes, alternative scenes, additional lore and drabbles from this AU.
> 
> Please leave a kudos and comment. Flattery gets you everywhere.


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